DANBURY -- The Danbury Branch Metro-North line will get a new interim schedule this week intended to provide more time for crews to repair ongoing signal system malfunctions at crossings that have plagued the rail line in recent weeks.

State Department of Transportation officials said the full interim schedule will be released Wednesday and will include busing during off-peak and weekend periods. Trains will continue to run during peak periods, however, their times may be adjusted in the interim.

The new schedule will begin on March 1. How long that schedule remains in place depends upon how long it takes to fix the problem.

"Nobody is happy that this needs to take place," said Kevin Nursick, a DOT spokesman. "But it's the best option moving forward. We need to get this situation resolved as quickly as possible."

For weeks the warning signal systems at grade crossings on the Danbury line have been malfunctioning, causing the system to activate when no train is in sight. It's also forced Metro-North to put into place a "stop-and-warn" procedure during which conductors have to stop the train at each crossing and wait for the signals to activate before continuing.

The problem is related to a $70 million electrification upgrade on the line completed in November.

Besides startling local drivers at the sight of a train a few feet away while crossing the tracks, the stop-and-warn procedure also has caused delays on the line during peak commuting periods of 10 minutes or more. Some officials are concerned the ongoing problem will erode the public's confidence in the system.

Metro-North last week offered to let Danbury Branch ticket holders use their tickets on the nearby Harlem line, which leads directly into Grand Central Terminal.

Rick Schreiner, the director of service development for the Housatonic Area Regional Transit, said there appeared to be a sharp uptick in the number of passengers using shuttles from the Danbury area to Brewster to catch the Harlem line.

The shuttle from Danbury had nearly 300 passengers on Monday, a jump from the 265 passengers the shuttle service sees on average days, he said.

Schreiner said there is still plenty of capacity available in the system if more commuters decide to take shuttle buses into New York state. Shuttles run daily from Danbury to Brewster, from Ridgefield to Katonah and from New Fairfield to Southeast, N.Y.

The ability to use the Harlem line, however, has been little help for people who commute daily to jobs in Stamford and Norwalk.

"It's probably added at least 10 minutes to my commute," said Tim Beeble, who rides regularly to Stamford from the Redding train station.

In terms of the potential for using buses on the line during the interim schedule, Beeble added, "if that's what they need done to get this repaired, then let's do it. It's very important that this problem gets addressed."

More than 250 area residents have signed a petition asking transportation officials to put warning signs near the crossings for motorists to alert them to the malfunctioning system.

"It's a very dangerous situation right now and something has to be done," Bethel resident Lisa Quillinan said recently.

State Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, a longtime advocate of improved rail services in the region, said she has yet to hear any estimate for how long the interim schedule will be in place.

"Unfortunately, we just don't know yet if it will be weeks or months," she said, adding that more than 2,200 people rely on the Danbury Branch to get to work every day. "It's crucial that we get this problem fixed as soon as possible."